Star Trek TOS reputed episode budgets
Back in the 1970s I read a book which explored numerous "behind the scenes" aspects of Star Trek. From what I recall, it contained a claim that it was the most expensive hour on TV at the time. I just finished watching a show about Star Trek which described the original series as a "cheap" show i.e. low-budget. Both can't be right.
Obviously the original series, if expensive, would have been under a lot of pressure to save money wherever possible. Sure, a lot of it looks rather cheesy by today's standards, but is that because of decades of rising production standards along with viewer expectations, or because it really was done on a meager budget? When you consider the ambitions of the show - depictions of aliens, other worlds, and spaceships good enough that you can suspend your disbelief and immerse yourself in the story, it would have pushed 1960s filmmaking to the limit, especially for a weekly show.
Also, its 1960s budget numbers would seem small today because of inflation, so in adjusted dollars, was it really a cheap show, or a premium product for its day?
Best Answer
Just a side note: the per-episode budget decreased with each season. This may explain why by Season 3, transporter scenes almost always showed just Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beaming down to a planet. This helped save money on the transporter special effects by not having additional officers/crew beaming down. I also believe that as a cost-saving measure, there were also no location filming in the third season.
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What was the budget for Star Trek TOS?
Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar TrekBudgetSeason one $190,000 per episode (~$1.4 million in 2019) Season two $185,000 per episode Season three $175,000 per episodeReleaseOriginal networkNBCPicture formatNTSC22 more rowsDid Star Trek have a low budget?
Star Trek \u2013 $200,000 per episode The iconic sci-fi series may seem low-budget compared to its modern successors, but when it premiered it was a big production. It had an average per-episode cost of about $200,000 which is over $1.5 million adjusted for inflation. One classic episode was particularly expensive.How much does it cost to make an episode of Star Trek discovery?
It was also revealed that an average episode of the first season had cost US$8\u20138.5 million, making it one of the most expensive television series ever made.Why did Star Trek TOS get Cancelled?
Star Trek's Low Ratings Led to Time-Slot and Budget Changes The network was concerned the series' tone was too cerebral for casual viewers, and initially refused to pick up Star Trek based on its original pilot; a second pilot, with a revised cast and tone, was then commissioned.First Time Watching Star Trek The Original Series - S1E25 The Devil in the Dark | REACTION
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Answer 2
It appears that this was answered in the Science Fiction and Fantasy SE site. Please read it all because it supplies more info than what is asked here, and the numbers are stated in different places.
Quick recap of what was said there: Average cost per episode was $190,635. And this is about $1.4 million today.
My personal notes: I never thought the effects were cheesy because when I say this, I think of the original series of other shows back then.
I also purchased the pilot episode of the original Start Trek (highly recommended). Gene Roddenberry gave a prolog to it, and in it he said that the network was squeezing him for budget. So he created the Menagerie episodes that re-used much of the original pilot that never aired. That implies that his episodes were not so cheap.
I hope this helps.
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